Monthly Archives: July 2015

If you haven’t already read the first book in the AFTFT Family Saga, now’s your chance 🙂 “Matt & Brooklyn”, the second standalone in the series, will be available August 6th!

Check out the book video and blurb (below), then head over to Amazon to grab your copy while it’s on sale!

❤ Blurb ❤

“Marry me” were the last words Luke thought he’d say to a perfect stranger.

Then again, Lissette never dreamed she’d actually say “yes”. But she did… The odds are against them from the start of their less than conventional marriage, but the couple quickly realizes that their newfound love is absolutely worth the risk.

I have a TON of new projects I’m working on (some secret, some that are already public knowledge) and that’s why I need you ❤

I’m looking for readers who genuinely enjoy my work to become a part of my street team. We can come up with a nifty name together once we get going, but for now I just need to know who’s with me. There will be a certain level of commitment involved–time and effort–but I am a firm believer in giving back to those who do for me.

What I’m looking for:

True fans 🙂 This doesn’t mean you have to have loved everything I’ve ever written, but I need people who “get me”. I’m looking for readers who are willing to stand behind me and help me share my work and be proud to be on this team.

Readers who I can connect with as more than… well… readers lol. We’ll be working together quite closely as a group, so I only want positive, well-meaning people on this team. Respect for one another is a requirement. Friendship is imminent 😀

People who are willing to dedicate a little of their time. This will absolutely not be anything like a full-time job, but there will be a little more effort required when I’m releasing or promoting a project. It’s like I said before, though; I always try to do for those who do for me. There will be incentives for this labor of love. Whether it be a first look at something I’m working on, first dibs on ARCs (Advance Review Copies), membership referral incentives, or small tokens of my appreciation, this will definitely not be a one-sided relationship.

People willing to share my work on their social media sites (in Facebook groups where potential readers may be, Twitter, Goodreads, and other forums). This is the meat of what I’m looking for. I need your help extending my reach.

Confidentiality. I’ll be sharing more than just release dates and promotional material with my team; I’ll be sharing tons of exclusive content, first looks at trailers and covers, and I’m sure I’ll be getting your opinions on various things of that nature. This will be a true, behind the scenes experience. For this reason, I’m looking for individuals who I can trust won’t share or “leak” anything before it’s time.

This list is not exhaustive and will probably grow and change over time, but this gives a pretty good overview of my street teams’ DNA. These are the things I need those who apply to be made of and I hope that’s you! If you think you’re interested and you honestly WANT to be a part of this group, please fill out this questionnaire and I’ll be in touch! 😀

*Note: I will be setting a membership limit because I plan to moderate this group myself for now. So once I reach that number, anyone else who applies will be kept on the list and contacted at a later date when I’m able to take on more members.*

Hey, everyone! I did a “Behind the Scenes” post when I released “Again for the First Time” in January, so I thought it would be fitting to do that for this story as well. I sometimes get questions from readers about my characters and my stories in general, so I thought I’d just share a few things with you all right out the gate 😀

First, a couple reminders:

“Matt & Brooklyn” will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, and in paperback formats by August 6th, 2015. To receive a notification when the book goes live on Amazon, follow me 😀

Also, for my Facebook friends who signed up for an ARC (Advanced Review/Reader copy), the book will be in your email inboxes on Thursday, July 23rd. TWO DAYS! That came really fast and I’m so excited!

❤ Now, on to the actual post. As always, feel free to comment below and I’ll be happy to answer any questions ❤

Their story takes place 2 to 2 ½ years after “Again for the First Time”, so Matt is now 26 and Brook is 24.

Yes, Matt has quite a bit of money since his career has taken off, but you may not even notice it throughout the story. There are a few indicators, but I purposely don’t harp on what’s going on with his bank account because it isn’t about that. Neither he nor Brook are focused on that. Money isn’t what drives him to do what he does; it’s passion.

Brook HAS NOT CHANGED lol. So the same career-focused, smart-mouthed, stubborn person she was in the previous story, expect that same woman to be within the pages of this book. That was intentional. I did my best to make these characters stay in their true form because those were the same characters readers seemed interested in exploring further. So is she cold sometimes? Yeah. Callous even? Possibly, but I promise she’s the same person you read previously. However, she has grown up and this story is very much about her emotional journey and learning to be open.

“Matt is not Luke 2.0” one of my betas said… and I loved that. I was concerned readers would expect Luke all over again and that was her response. Matt is not Luke. No more than Brook is Lissy. While, yes, my previous and current heroes are siblings, they are two completely different people. Matt is the laidback, fun-loving one, but he’s also grown up. Since the last book ended he’s aged two years AND now works in his profession, so that would mature anyone to a certain degree. Matt is also a straight-forward, doesn’t hold ‘em up kinda guy. He says what he means and means what he says (which I LOVE about him). There are no pretenses about him and he never deviates from who he is. No lies. No secrets. No drama. I must say, he was refreshing to write!

You will get updates on past characters in this story (All the crazy James sisters will be there) and you’ll also get a glimpse into two other avenues I plan to explore within the family saga—one that’s very obvious and one you’ll have to read between the lines in order to see that something’s brewing 🙂 The reason this series has zero cliffhangers is because it wasn’t intended to be a series. I ended up falling in love with Matt as I wrote him as a supporting character in the last book and, likewise, I saw potential for other characters to have their stories told while crafting “Matt & Brooklyn”. Both have already been started and I plan to release one of the two later this year. It all depends, though, because I have several other projects in my queue waiting to be finished lol. Updates coming soon!

❤ That’s it for now. I’ll let you all explore the rest when you read ❤

Hey! So, I already shared the first two chapters of “Matt & Brooklyn” with my newsletter subscribers, but I wanted to share a sneak peek here as well; something different. Just a reminder: “Matt & Brooklyn” will be released August 6th! Follow me on Amazon to be notified via email when it goes live!

❤ This one’s from Matt’s point of view. Enjoy ❤

*****

“Brook… what the hell are you so afraid of? It’s always some crap about messing up our friendship, but there’s more to it than that,” I accused, daring her to be straight with me for once.

My question shocked her into silence and I took advantage of those precious seconds before she spoke again.

“Listen to what you’re saying! We’re not children! God forbid that we, two adults who’ve known each other for two—almost three—years, realize that they want more than—”

“Speak for yourself,” she cut in hastily. “I don’t want more. I don’t want anything other than what we have now,” she lied. Even if she couldn’t say it, I saw it all over her—when I showed up at her graduation ceremony, when she first arrived here, when she almost kissed me last night, even now. No matter what she said, she wanted me, wanted us, just as badly as I did.

The power this woman had to infuriate me was unreal. I stared at her as she basically scowled at me. She rested her hands on her hips to drive home the fact that she’d already made this decision… for the both of us. However, unlike usual, I wasn’t in the mood to let her call the shots, which I typically allowed so she didn’t have to venture outside of her comfort zone. I tiptoed around her feelings and demands long enough, though.

“Why can’t you just accept th—”

I don’t know what happened… honest to God I don’t.

One minute I was standing there, listening to Brook getting ready to make yet another declaration and then the next, I had the taste of her lip gloss on my tongue. I breathed her in deep, hearing the air rush into my lungs as one hand gripped the back of her hair. The other clutched her waist. I couldn’t pinpoint the moment I leaned in and chose to own her, but I had. I pulled her body closer to mine until the deep intakes of breath she inhaled made her breasts press into my chest.

She parted her lips and surrendered to me more willingly than I ever imagined she was capable of. A woman like her didn’t give in to anything or anyone easily, yet her body seemed to be following my lead. With every tug I gave, she let me bring her closer, and with one wordless commanded I now had possession of her tongue. I’d never seen her like this—defenseless. She had to know she could trust me, though; had to know I wouldn’t make her regret admitting what she felt. I’d spent our entire friendship proving that.

A soft moan filled her throat, vibrating through her chest and mine. She tasted so good, so sweet. The feel of her full lips against mine, between mine, against my tongue, had me gripping her tighter. When her hands came to rest at either side of my face, the kiss slowed and deepened. Her touch was restrained at first, but then her fingertips wandered toward my hairline, and eventually, she got up the nerve to fill her hands with it, my hair, pulling just a little.

The tension that’d been pinned up inside her, the anger, the frustration, seemed to melt away. She relaxed against me and in that moment, I realized this could’ve gone very differently. Brook could’ve easily snatched away when I initiated the kiss, but she hadn’t. Instead, she was mirroring the same emotion, the same intensity that I was.

“We can’t do this, Matt. We have to stop,” she said in a breathless whisper, but then contradicted herself the very next second when warm moisture from her mouth coated my bottom lip. She slowly pulled it between her own, sucking and tugging at the flesh, sending every drop of blood in my body rushing in one direction—south, making me want more from her, much more; I wanted everything.

*****

The song I had on repeat while writing this scene–and whatever went down right after 🙂 : “Body Party”_by Ciara

Only four more weeks until the release of my ninth novel, “Matt & Brooklyn: A Standalone in the “Again for the First Time” Family Saga”! I’m extremely excited about this one 🙂 😀 🙂 😀 🙂 (Hence my overuse of smiley emoticons!!) If you’d like to be notified of the book’s availability on release day, click here to sigh up for my newsletter. This will ensure that you don’t miss out on the special release price of $2.99 before it’s raised!